Racing involves speed, concentration and committment; the results of a mistake are
usually catastrophic because there's little room for error riding at 100 percent.
Performance street riding is less intense and further from the absolute limit, but because
circumstances are less controlled, mistakes and overagressiveness can be equally
catastrophic. Plenty of roadracers have sworn off street riding. "Too dangerous, too
many variables and too easy to get carried away with too much speed," track
specialists claim. Adrenaline-addled racers find themselves treating the street like the
track, and not surprisingly, they get burned by the police, the laws of physics and the
cold, harsh realities of an environment not groomed for ten tenths riding. But as many of
us know, a swift ride down a favorite road may be the finest way to spend a few free hours
with a bike we love. And these few hours are best enjoyed riding at The Pace.

A year after I joined the Motorcyclist staff in 1984, Mitch Boehm was hired. Six months
later, The Pace came into being, and we perfected it during the next few months of road
testing and weekend fun rides. Now The Pace is part of my life--and a part of the
Sunday-morning riding group I frequent. The Pace is a street technique that not only keeps
street riders alive, but thoroughly entertained as well.

The Pace

The Pace focuses on bike control and de-emphasizes outright speed. Full-throttle
acceleration and last minute braking aren't part of the program, effectively eliminating
the two most common single-bike accident scenarios in sport riding. Cornering momentum is
the name of the game, stressing strong, forceful inputs at the handlebar to place the bike
correctly at the entrance of the turn and get it flicked in with little wasted time and
distance. Since the throttle wasn't slammed open at the exit of the last corner, the next
corner doesn't require much, if any, braking. It isn't uncommon to ride with our group and
not see a brake light flash all morning.

If the brakes are required, the front lever gets squeezed smoothly, quickly and with a
good deal of force to set entrance speed with minimum time. Running in on the brakes is
tantamount to running off the road, a confession that you're pushing too hard and not
getting your entrance speed set early enough because you stayed on the gas too long.
Running The Pace decreases your reliance on the throttle and brakes, the two easiest
controls to abuse, and hones your ability to judge cornering speed, which is the most
thrilling aspect of performance street riding.

Your Lane is Your Limit

Crossing the centerline at any time except during a passing maneuver is intolerable,
another sign that you're pushing too hard to keep up. Even when you have a clean line of
sight through a left-hand kink, stay to the right of the centerline. Staying on the right
side of the centerline is much more challenging than simply straightening every slight
corner, and when the whole group is committed to this intelligent practice, the temptation
to cheat is eliminated through peer pressure and logic. Though street riding shouldn't be
described in racing terms, you can think of your lane as the racetrack. Leaving your lane
is tantamount to a crash.

Exact bike control has you using every inch of your lane if the circumstances permit
it. In corners with a clear line of sight and no oncoming traffic, enter at the far
outside of the corner, turn the bike relatively late in the corner to get a late apex at
the far inside of your lane and accelerate out, just brushing the far outside of your lane
as your bike stands up. Steer your bike forcefully but smoothly to minimize the transition
time; don't hammer it down because the chassis will bobble slightly as it settles,
possibly carrying you off line. Since you haven't charged in on the brakes, you can get
the throttle on early, before the apex, which balances and settles your bike for the drive
out.

More often than not, ciccumstances do not permit the full use of your lane from yellow
line to white line and back again. Blind corners, oncoming traffic and gravel on the road
are a few criteria that dictate a more conservative approach, so leave yourself a three-
or four-foot margin for error, especially at the left side of the lane where errant
oncoming traffic could prove fatal. Simply narrow your entrance on a blind right-hander
and move your apex into your lane three feet on blind left turns in order to stay free of
unseen oncoming traffic hogging the centerline. Because you're running at The Pace and not
flat out, your controlled entrances offer additional time to deal with unexpected gravel
or other debris in your lane; the outside wheel track is usually the cleanest through a
dirty corner since a car weights its outside tires most, scrubbing more dirt off the
pavement in the process, so aim for that line.

A Good Leader, Willing Followers

The street is not a racing environment, and it takes humility, self assurance and self
control to keep it that way. The leader sets the pace and monitors his mirrors for signs
of raggedness in the ranks that follow, such as tucking in on straights, crossing over the
yellow line and hanging off the motorcycle in corners. If the leader pulls away, he simply
slows his straightaway speed slightly but continues to enjoy the corners, thus closing the
ranks but missing none of the fun. The small group of three or four riders I ride with is
so harmonious that the pace is identical no matter who's leading. The lead shifts
occasionally with a quick hand sign, but there's never a pass for the lead with an ego on
the sleeve. Make no mistake, the riding is spirited and quick--in the corners. Anyone with
a right arm can hammer down the straights; it's the proficiency in the corners that makes
The Pace come alive.

Following distances are relatively lengthy, with the straightaways---taken at more
moderate speeds--the perfect opportunity to adjust the gaps. Keeping a good distance
serves several purposes, besides being safer. Rock chips are minimized and the highway
patrol won't suspect a race is in progress. The Pace's style of not hanging off in corners
also reduces the appearance of pushing too hard and adds a degree of maturity and
sensibility in the eyes of the public and the law. There's a definite challenge to
cornering quickly while sitting sedately on your bike.

New rider indoctrination takes some time because The Pace develops very high cornering
speeds and newcomers want to hammer the throttle on exits to make up for what they lose at
the entrances. Our group slows drastically when a new rider joins the ranks because our
technique of moderate straightaway speeds and no brakes can suck the unaware into a corner
too fast, creating the most common single-bike accident. With a new rider learning The
Pace behind you, tap your brake lightly well before the turn to alert him and make sure he
understands there's no pressure to stay with the group.

There's plenty of ongoing communication during The Pace. A foot off the peg indicates
debris on the road, and all slowing or turning intentions are signaled in advance with the
left hand and arm. Turn signals are used for direction changes and passing, with a wave of
the left hand to thank the cars that move right and make it easy for the motorcyclists to
get past. Since you don't have a death grip on the handlebar, you left hand is also free
to wave to oncoming riders, a fading courtesy that we'd like to see return. If you're
getting the idea The Pace is a relaxing, noncompetitive way to ride with a group, you are
right.

Relax and Flick It

I'd rather spend a Sunday in the mountains riding at The Pace than a Sunday at the
racetrack, it is that enjoyable. Countersteering is the name of the game, a smooth
forceful steering input at the handlebar relayed to the tires contact patches through a
rigid sport-bike frame. Riding at The Pace is certainly what the bike manufacturers had in
mind when sport bikes evolved to the street.

But the machine isn't the most important aspect of running The Pace because you can do
it on anything capable of getting through a corner. Attitude is The Pace's most important
aspect; realizing the friend ahead of you isn't a competotor, respecting his right to lead
the group occasionally and giving him credit for his riding skills. You must have the
maturity to limlt your straightaway speeds to allow the group to stay in touch and the
sense to realize that racetrack tactics such as late braking and full throttle runs to
redline will alienate the public and police and possibly introduce you to the unforgiving
laws of gravity. When the group arrives at the destination after running The Pace, no one
feels outgunned or is left with the feeling he must prove himself on the return run. If
you've got something to prove, get on a racetrack.

The racetrack measures your speed with a stopwatch and direct competition, welcoming
your agression and gritty resolve to be the best. Performance street riding's only
yardstick is the amount of enjoyment gained, not lap times, finishing position or
competitors beaten. The differences are huge but not always remembered by riders who
haven't discovered The Pace's cornering pureness and group involvement. Hammer on the
racetrack. Pace yourself on the street.

Reprinted without permission from ...

SPORT
RIDER

June 1993

Petersen Pulishing Company

PACE
YOURSELF

by Nick Ienatsch

The street is not the track - It's a place to Pace.

Two weeks go a rider died when he and his bike tumbled off a cliff paralleling our
favorite road. No gravel in the lane, no oncoming car pushing him wide, no ice. The guy
screwed up. Rider error. Too much enthusiasm with too little skill, and this fatality
wasn't the first on this road this year. As with most single-bike accidents, the rider
entered the corner at a speed his brain told him was too fast, stood the bike up and
nailed the rear brake. Goodbye.

On the racetrack, the rider would have tumbled into the hay bales, visited the
ambulance for a strip of gauze and headed back to the pits to straighten his handlebars
and think about his mistake. But let's get one thing perfectly clear: the street is not
the racetrack. Using it as such will shorten your riding career and keep you from
discovering the Pace. The Pace is far from street racing - and a lot more fun.

The Pace places the motorcycle in its proper role as the controlled vehicle, not the
controlling vehicle. Too many riders of sport bikes become baggage when the throttle gets
twisted - the ensuing speed is so overwhelming they are carried along in the rush. The
Pace ignores outright speed and can be as much fun on a Ninja 250 as on a ZX-11,
emphasizing rider skill over right-wrist bravado. A fool can twist the grip, but a fool
has no idea how to stop or turn. Learning to stop will save your life; learning to turn
will enrich it. What feels better than banking a motorcycle over into a corner?

The mechanics of turning a motorcycle involve pushing and/or pulling on the handlebars;
while this isn't new information for most sport riders, realize that the force at the
handlebar affects the motorcycle's rate of turn-in. Shove hard on the bars, and the bike
snaps over; gently push the bars, and the bike lazily banks in. Different corners require
different techniques, but as you begin to think about lines, late entrances and late
apexes, turning your bike at the exact moment and reaching he precise lean angle will
require firm, forceful inputs ant the handlebars. If you take less time to turn your
motorcycle, you can use that time to brake more effectively or run deeper into the corner,
affording yourself more time to judge the corner and a better look at any hidden
surprises. It's important to look as far into the corner as possible and remember the
adage, "You go where you look."

Don't Rush

The number-one survival skill, after mastering emergency braking, is setting your
corner-entrance speed early, or as Kenny Roberts says, "Slow in, fast out."
Street riders may get away with rushing into 99 out of 100 corners, but that last one will
have gravel, mud or a trespassing car. Setting entrance speed early will allow you to
adjust your speed and cornering line, giving you every opportunity to handle the surprise.

We've all rushed into a corner too fast and experienced not just the terror but the
lack of control when trying to herd the bike into the bend. If you're fighting the brakes
and trying to turn the bike, any surprise will be impossible to deal with. Setting your
entrance speed early and looking into the corner allows you to determine what type of
corner you're facing. Does the radius decrease? Is the turn off-camber? Is there an
embankment that may have contributed some dirt to the corner?

Racers talk constantly about late braking, yet that technique is used only to pass for
position during a race, not to turn a quicker lap time. Hard braking blurs the ability to
judge cornering speed accurately, and most racers who rely too heavily on the brakes find
themselves passed at the corner exits because they scrubbed off too much cornering speed.
Additionally, braking late often forces you to trail the brakes or turn the motorcycle
while still braking. While light trail braking is an excellent and useful technique to
master, understand that your front tire has only a certain amount of traction to give.

If you use a majority of the front tire's traction for braking and then ask it to
provide maximum cornering traction as well, a typical low-side crash will result. Also
consider that your motorcycle won't steer as well with the fork fully compressed under
braking. If you're constantly fighting the motorcycle while turning, it may be because
you're braking too far into the corner. All these problems can be eliminated by setting
your entrance speed early, an important component of running the Pace.

Since you aren't hammering the brakes at every corner entrance, your enjoyment of pure
cornering will increase tremendously. You'll relish the feeling of snapping your bike into
the corner and opening the throttle as early as possible. Racers talk about getting the
drive started, and that's just as important on the street. Notice how the motorcycle
settles down and simply works better when the throttle is open? Use a smooth, light touch
on the throttle and try to get the bike driving as soon as possible in the corner, even
before the apex, the tightest point of the corner. If you find yourself on the throttle
ridiculously early, it's an indication you can increase your entrance speed slightly be
releasing the brakes earlier.

As you sweep past the apex, you can begin to stand the bike up out of the corner. This
is best done by smoothly accelerating, which will help stand the bike up. As the rear tire
comes off full lean, it puts more rubber on the road, and the forces previously used for
cornering traction can be converted to acceleration traction. The throttle can be rolled
open as the bike stands up.

This magazine won't tell you how fast is safe; we will tell you how to go fast safely.
How fast you go is your decision, but it's one that requires reflection and commitment.
High speed on an empty four-lane freeway is against the law, but it's fairly safe.
Fifty-five miles per hour in a canyon may be legal, but it may also be dangerous. Get
together with your friends and talk about speed. Set a reasonable maximum and stick to it.
Done right, the Pace is addicting without high straightaway speeds.

The group I ride with couldn't care less about outright speed between corners; any
gomer can twist a throttle. If you routinely go 100 mph, we hope you routinely practice
emergency stops from that speed. Keep in mind outright speed will earn a ticket that is
tough to fight and painful to pay; cruising the easy straight stuff doesn't attract as
much attention from the authorities and sets your speed perfectly for the next sweeper.

Group Mentality

Straights are the time to reset the ranks. The leader needs to set a pace that won't
bunch up the followers, especially while leaving a stop sign or passing a car on a
two-lane road. The leader must use the throttle hard to get around the car and give the
rest of the group room to make the pass, yet he or she can't speed blindly along and earn
a ticket for the whole group. With sane speeds on the straights, the gaps can be adjusted
easily; the bikes should be spaced about two seconds apart for maximum visibility of
surface hazards.

It's the group aspect of the Pace I enjoy most, watching the bikes in front of me click
into a corner like a row of dominoes, or looking in my mirror as my friends slip through
the same set of corners I just emerged from.

Because there's a leader and a set of rules to follow, the competitive aspect of sport
riding is eliminated and that removes a tremendous amount of pressure from a young rider's
ego - or even an old rider's ego. We've all felt the tug of racing while riding with
friends or strangers, but the Pace takes that away and saves it for where it belongs: the
racetrack. The racetrack is where you prove your speed and take chances to best your
friends and rivals.

I've spend a considerable amount of time writing about the Pace (see Motorcyclist, Nov.
'91) for several reasons, not the least of which being the fun I've had researching it
(continuous and ongoing). But I have motivations that aren't so fun. I got scared a few
years ago when Senator Danforth decided to save us from ourselves by trying to ban
superbikes, soon followed by insurance companies blacklisting a variety of sport bikes.
I've seen Mulholland Highway shut down because riders insisted on racing (and crashing)
over a short section of it. I've seen heavy police patrols on roads that riders insist on
throwing themselves off of. I've heard the term "murder-cycles" a dozen times
too many. When we consider the abilities of a modern sport bike, it becomes clear that
rider techniques is sorely lacking.

The Pace emphasizes intelligent, rational riding techniques that ignore racetrack
heroics without sacrificing fun. The skills needed to excel on the racetrack make up the
basic precepts of the Pace, excluding the mind-numbing speeds and leaving the
substantially larger margin for error needed to allow for unknowns and immovable objects.
Our sport faces unwanted legislation from outsiders, but a bit of throttle management from
within will guarantee our future.

The Pace Principles

Set cornering speed early. Blow the entrance and you'll never recover.

Look down the road. Maintaining a high visual horizon will reduce perceived speed and
help you avoid panic situations.

Use your brakes smoothly but firmly. Get on and then off the brakes; don't drag 'em.

Get the throttle on early. Starting the drive settles the chassis, especially through a
bumpy corner.

Never cross the centerline except to pass. Crossing the centerline in a corner is an
instant ticket and an admittance that you can't really steer your bike. In racing terms,
your lane is your course; staying right of the line adds a significant challenge to most
roads and is mandatory for sport riding's future.

Don't crowd the centerline. Always expect an oncoming car with two wheels in your lane.

Don't hang off in the corners or tuck in on the straights. Sitting sedately on the bike
looks safer and reduces unwanted attention. It also provides a built-in safety margin.

When leading, ride for the group. Good verbal communication is augmented with hand
signals and turn signals; change direction and speed smoothly.

When following, ride with the group. If you can't follow a leader, don't expect anyone
to follow you when you're setting the pace.